


just a little...

by Labyrinthinee



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: F/M, This is almost pure fluff, a hell lot of hugs and cuddles ensue, bonding is important especially when one is sick, it's what they need and deserve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2020-11-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:20:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27279397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Labyrinthinee/pseuds/Labyrinthinee
Summary: Julie is sick.It sucks, especially with their upcoming performance at Destiny Records. Now there's not much she can do apart from sleeping, drinking tea and binge-watching.Until three friendly ghosts decide to take it upon themselves to help her get better a little quicker.
Relationships: Alex/Julie Molina/Luke Patterson/Reggie, Julie Molina/Luke Patterson
Comments: 32
Kudos: 339





	1. ... cold

**Author's Note:**

> I needed a pick me up and this story has been ghosting through my head for a while now, so I finally sat down and finished it :)
> 
> I just need to finish editing the other two chapters, so the wait shouldn't be too long!
> 
> Hopefully I can brighten your day and make you smile a little in these crazy times.
> 
> you can find me on [tumblr](http://serendipitee.tumblr.com/).
> 
> Bea x.

  


  


Julie finishes the chorus, letting her voice carry the note until Luke hits the next chord. Flynn is applauding from the couch, grinning from ear to ear.

  


“Okay, listen, folks,” she says then while the boys continue playing.

  


Julie hurries to join them, so they won’t disappear. They have gotten pretty good at it, drawing out the end of their songs, so they can talk with Flynn, their self-announced manager.

  


“I got an e-mail this morning and, drum roll please!” She points at Alex who complies quickly. “Julie and The Phantoms is playing at Destiny Records HQ this Friday!”

  


It takes a second for Flynn’s words to sink in, they stop playing, staring at each other, the boys disappear to Flynn but Julie can still see the amazement shining in their eyes; then it’s close to pandemonium.

  


They are all screaming at the top of their lungs, jumping up and down. Alex is the first to hug Julie and they quickly form their band circle, pulling each other close, jumping together.

  


Flynn’s cough finally makes them part.

  


“You must know, how weird that looks, right?” She waves her hand in Julie’s direction, encompassing the boys with it.

  


“Get over here!” Julie ignores the little jab.

  


They break up the circle, making room for Flynn. Luke’s hand is already outstretched towards the middle. His shoulder is touching Julie’s and she’d lean into the contact if it wasn’t for Flynn’s watchful eyes. Instead she takes her best friend’s hand, puts it on top of hers.

  


“Legends on three,” Luke says.

  


They shout out the word and for the rest of the evening Julie can’t stop smiling. She stays in the studio until her dad finally disrupts their planning session.

  


“Do you even realize how cold it is out here?” he chastises her.

  


An involuntary shiver runs down Julie’s spine. She hadn’t, until now.

  


He puts his arm around her shoulder, tucking her into his side. Julie sighs at the warmth, waving at the boys behind her father’s back.

  


She starts sniffling in bed while writing down some lyrics and safely putting them into her dream box. For a moment her eyes land on the paper that she’s penned 'Perfect Harmony' on. Luckily, Luke has never again dared to touch the box without her permission. She’s still not sure what they really are.

  


They are bandmates, friends, best friends even and Julie knows that her crush is continuously growing. Her and Flynn had discussed it in detail last time her best friend stayed over but she hadn’t brought the subject up with Luke and neither had he.

  


Carefully she puts her dream box on the shelf before hurrying into bed. Another shiver runs through her body and she snuggles deeper under her covers. Sleep comes quickly, pulling her under and she falls with a small smile on her lips.

  


*******

  


The next morning Julie wakes up with her head pounding. Her throat is all raw and achy and when she gets downstairs, Carlos almost spits out his cereal.

  


“You look gross,” he says with his mouth full.

  


“You’re gross,” mumbles Julie, feeling too weak to come up with a good comeback.

  


“Oh, mi hija, you really don’t look good.” Her dad is immediately by her side, putting his hand on her forehead and gently tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ears.

  


“’m not feeling too good, either.”

  


“You’ll stay home from school today.” His voice is final and Julie agrees. She just wants to get back into bed, turn herself into a blanket burrito and sleep for eternity. Or at least two more hours. “Go back upstairs, I’ll bring you some tea in a minute.”

  


Julie does as she’s told. Her dad’s right, has been right yesterday as well. She shouldn’t have stayed out that long. Pulling the covers up to her ears, Julie’s asleep before her head fully hits the pillows.

  


*******

  


“Are you sure she’s still _just_ sleeping?”

  


“She’s not dying Reggie! She’s just sick.”

  


“Uh, sure, it was _just_ a street dog for us, too!”

  


“Shh, guys, you’re going to wake her up,” shushes Alex.

  


“Too late.” Julie groggily opens her eyes.

  


Blurrily she can make out three shadows around her bed. There’s a cold hand on her forehead and she sighs. This feels nice. She rubs her hands over her eyes and slowly everything becomes clearer.

  


Alex is sitting at her feet a worried expression on his face. Reggie is on her bean bag, playing with her phone. She regrets the day she showed him Candy Crush. Luke is sitting next to her and it’s his hand, that is gently stroking her hair. Julie blushes and sits up abruptly.

  


The hand vanishes, dizziness appears.

  


“Have some tea,” says Alex, offering her favorite mug to her, the on with the purple butterflies. Strangely enough it’s still warm. Julie frowns. “Your dad left a thermos.”

  


Her eyes find the bright red bottle on her desk.

  


“Your tía’ll bring you some soup for lunch.” Luke picks at a thread of her pillow case.

  


Suddenly Julie isn’t sure, if the hotness and uneasiness she feels is due to the fever or Luke’s closeness. She decides to close her eyes, breathe in the tea and drown out her surroundings.

  


It works until Reggie starts cursing at her phone. Alex takes it away quickly when Julie frowns at the bassist.

  


“Hey!”

  


“Julie needs to rest.” Alex refuses to hand the phone back and crosses his arms. “She needs to get better till Friday and we’ll help her in any way we can.”

  


“Well, us being in her room won’t help. And having Luke in her bed definitely doesn’t help,” states Reggie bluntly.

  


Luke basically jumps out of her bed, stammering incomprehensibly. Julie just groans, hiding her face behind her hands.

  


Alex rolls his eyes, smacking Reggie over the head with one of the pillows from the bed.

  


Julie decides ignoring them is still the best strategy, concentrating on finishing her tea and not looking at Luke, who starts a heated discussion about guitars with his bandmates to distract them from his own uneasiness. Everybody in the room knows what he’s doing but Julie is thankful. She’s not any wiser as to what her and Luke are than she last night and today doesn’t seem like a good day to find out.

  


When her mug is empty, she places it on the night stand.

  


“We should let you sleep again.” Alex seems to know what she needs, because it sounds like an excellent idea.

  


A yawn is answer enough and the boys poof out one after the other. Luke is the last one left. He looks at her strangely and there’s a tingle somewhere in her stomach that hasn’t been there before. She’s not sure, if it’s from the tea or the fever or him.

  


“I can stay if you want?” He offers.

  


Julie wants him to. She always does. But it doesn’t seem like a good idea. The tingling is getting worse. “No, no, it’s fine. Go work on our new song,” she says instead, forcing a smile on her face.

  


“You sure?”

  


She nods. He still doesn’t leave straight away though. Instead he steps towards her, slowly tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Sleep tight, Jules.” Her eyes close at the contact and when she opens them again, he’s gone.

  


The tingling isn’t, though and Julie falls asleep, wishing she’d asked him to stay.

  


*******

  


Her phone is filled with messages when she wakes up the next time. She replies to all of them, smiling at Flynn’s antics and sighs at Nick’s sweetness. There’s no tingling anywhere, though and she lets herself fall back into the pillows.

  


Staring at the ceiling, Julie decides that if she has to spend the day in bed, she might as well do something useful.

  


Carefully she pushes back the covers, hisses when her bare feet hit the seemingly cold air and hurries to get her laptop before cuddling under the covers again. She powers up Netflix and settles in.

  


She has just started an episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine when she hears Reggie’s signature knock against her door. She’s sure, he has a sixth sense for her binge-watching because he always shows up just on time.

  


“Come in!”

  


He pokes his head through the door. “Are you decent?” He had caught her in a towel just two weeks ago and they both haven’t fully recovered.

  


“Would be too late now,” comments Julie, drily rolling her eyes.

  


Reggie steps through the door, shrugging sheepishly. For a moment he looks at her, then he rounds the bed. At the desk he pours her a fresh mug of tea before he motions for her to scoot over.

  


Julie does so quickly, making space for her friend who gets into bed carefully, trying not to spill anything. She takes the mug thankfully.

  


As always Reggie takes his time to make himself comfortable, fluffing up the pillows around him, searching for the perfect position, he’ll be able to stay in for the next hours. When he finally stills, Julie asks, “Ready?”

  


He nods and she hits play. Mid-way through the second episode she falls asleep on his shoulder, snoring lightly. Reggie doesn’t have the heart to wake her up. He does pause the episode though and fishes for her phone. Entering the pin-code he starts playing Candy Crush again.

  


He’s fully invested, when a new text reaches Julie’s phone. For a moment Reggie is completely overwhelmed, not really knowing what to do with it. It just pops up and he really doesn’t want to read it, after all Julie is very serious about her privacy and boundaries and all that. Then again, she’s like his little sister and he knows that name.

  


At last, his curiosity wins out and he clicks on the text. It’s a picture of a grand piano in what looks to be Julie’s school.

  


_Music class is boring without you… the piano misses you.  
As do I, btw._

  


Reggie almost drops the phone. Julie snores. Hastily he puts it on her night stand and then stares at the wall across from him.

  


He definitely shouldn’t have read that. But, well, nobody has to find out, right?

  


*******

  


Reggie is still there when Julie is being woken up by her tía’s calls for her.

  


“Upstairs!” She answers.

  


A moment later the door flies open. Reggie scrambles out of the way, as her aunt hurries to her bedside.

  


Julie and him lock eyes over her aunt's head, while she is busy examining her niece and gushing over how awful she looks.

  


“Thanks, tía,” says Julie drily.

  


“I brought you soup, cholita. Your nana’s famous chicken soup. It always helped when you were little.”

  


Julie forces a smile. She hates that soup. Her mum had known that but apparently had never bothered to tell her sister.

  


“Thanks, tía!” She says again, falsely enthusiastic.

  


Reggie raises his eyebrows behind her aunt. “Oh, I know that smile! It’s the one you always get when I show you my country songs!” He stops. “Wait a minute…!”

  


Julie quickly gets out of bed. “I really appreciate it, tía, but I am so tired and…”

  


“You don’t like my country songs,” pouts Reggie.

  


“… I will eat it later, okay?”

  


“But why? I mean, the lyrics are awesome and I know, I shred on the banjo, so…”

  


“Of course, mija, I’ll put it in the fridge for you.”

  


“… you totally lied to me! Oh my god!”

  


“No, I didn’t,” promises Julie a little too forcefully and her aunt frowns.

  


“What?”

  


Julie stares at her for a second, then laughs. “Oh no, I didn’t shower, yet! I must look horrible!”

  


“Yes, you do,” snaps Reggie clearly offended, before he poofs out.

  


Julie rolls her eyes but has to keep in a laugh. Her aunt doesn’t seem completely convinced. She strokes Julie’s hair though and kisses her cheek.

  


“It’s not that bad. You always look wonderful, mija.”

  


They leave the room together and Julie thanks her aunt again before heading into the bathroom. A shower does sound like a good idea and afterwards she’ll apologize to Reggie.

  


*******

  


She finds the boys in the studio. Wearing a washed-out hoodie from her father’s old college Julie steps into the garage as the boys just finish a run-through of ‘Edge of Great’.

  


“Sounds good!”

  


“Careful, maybe she’s lying,” says Reggie, crossing his arms over the bass.

  


Julie sighs. “Reggie, I’m really sorry, okay? Your songs are good, I guess, but country music isn’t really my style and… well, I don’t like to think about you making any music without us.”

  


That seems to get him because he blinks twice before throwing his arms around her. She answers the hug, laughing lightly which quickly turns into a cough.

  


Reggie lets her go right away, patting her back a little roughly. Luke’s by her side immediately, a worried expression on his face.

  


“I’m fine.” She waves it off, straightening.

  


“You shouldn’t be out here.” Alex walks around his drums. “You’re shivering.”

  


He’s right. She is. She doesn’t like to admit it, though. Again, she waves it off. She has to rehearse with boys, get their set ready for Friday. “I’m fine,” she assures them.

  


“Here, take my jacket,” Alex offers, shrugging out of his jean jacket and throwing it over Julie’s shoulders.

  


“And this.” Luke tugs his beanie off his head. He gently puts it on hers and Julie feels that tingle again. Maybe she does belong back into bed. Maybe Luke would like to watch Netflix with her. She’d like that.

  


Reggie gets the blanket from the couch, putting it snugly around her. All three of them are now hovering above her and Julie can’t help but smile. It’s nice to be taken care of.

  


“Let’s get you back to bed,” suggests Alex.

  


Julie sighs. “But it’s so boring. Can’t I stay and listen to you guys play?” She pouts but another shiver betrays her.

  


“Nope, to bed with you!”, exclaims Reggie and leads the way.

  


They escort her to her room and settle around her bed.

  


“Anything else you need?” Luke hands her a fresh cup of tea.

  


“A grilled cheese sandwich,” sighs Julie, “but I’ll survive until Dad comes back.”

  


“We can make it!” Reggie seems thrilled at the idea of cooking.

  


Julie shakes her head. “That’s fine. Just, stay?”

  


Reggie sinks back into the bean bag but nods. Luke’s guitar appears in his hand and Alex starts a rhythm using his hands. They sing her a song, she doesn’t know.

  


Julie is content with listening to them. She closes her eyes, enjoying the company and the knowledge that she isn’t alone. There’s family surrounding her and being sick doesn’t feel as bad anymore.

  


*******

  


The smoke detector forces her to open her eyes a little while later.

  


The boys are nowhere to be seen and a look at the clock on her nightstand tells her, that it’s too early for Carlos to be home from school.

  


Quickly she gets out of bed, hurrying down the stairs.

  


There’s smoke coming from the kitchen and she can make out Alex’ yelling. Reggie is shouting something back and Luke is rushing towards her.

  


“We are so sorry!” He says, his hands up in the air and smiling apologetically. “Alex has already put out the fire but…”

  


“The _what_?!”

  


Julie rushes past him into the kitchen. A pan on the stove seems to be the source of all evil. Something is in there, looking like a piece of coal and smelling even worse.

  


“What the heck?” Julie crosses her arms, looking from Reggie, who has a spatula in his right hand to Alex, who has a dishtowel in his left.

  


“We wanted to make you a grilled cheese sandwich,” starts Alex.

  


“Surprise!” interrupts Reggie, waving the spatula around.

  


Julie frowns at both of them. “How does grilled cheese turn into all… this?” She asks, pointing at the burnt whatever on the stove.

  


“Uh, well, you know, actually it’s a funny story…” Reggie looks at her seriously and she knows that what will follow is going to be an elaborate story that she can’t be mad about, so Julie just sighs.

  


“Whatever… I don’t care. Just clean up, please? And open a window!” She’s about to say more but the ringing of her phone interrupts her.

  


“Hey, Dad!” She answers, trying to make herself sound healthy. It backfires completely, when she starts coughing.

  


“You sound awful.”

  


“Thanks, Dad.” She rubs a hand over her face while watching the three ghosts in her kitchen. Alex has dutifully opened a window while Luke and Reggie are debating whether they can still save that sandwich somehow. Luke suggests peanut butter, making her gag a little.

  


“Did tía bring you soup?”

  


“Yeah, nana’s chicken soup,” sighs Julie, thankful that Reggie has vetoed the peanut butter idea.

  


“Oh, you hate that.”

  


“I know, Dad. Tía obviously doesn’t.”

  


Alex has turned on the faucet, wrestling Reggie for the pan to clean it up. Luke is still yelling out suggestions about possible sandwich toppings, one worse than the other.

  


“Hey, Dad, I’m going to rest a little bit more, okay? Love you, bye!” Julie doesn’t wait for an answer before tucking the phone into Alex’ jacket she’s still wearing. She’s fearing for the safety of their kitchen.

  


There’s water everywhere when she enters, the piece of coal is flying through the air, landing by her feet and Luke has Reggie in a head lock.

  


“Enough!” Julie shouts.

  


The pan hits the floor with a loud clank. A heavy silence follows and Julie stares from one of her bandmates to the next.

  


“Out,” she growls then.

  


“But shouldn’t we like clean up? I mean, this is a mess… oh god, this is such a mess!” Reggie exclaims.

  


“Out!” Julie points towards the back door.

  


“Jules, we’re sorry, we’ll…”

  


“Don’t make me repeat it a third time.” She threatens them and finally all three of them hurriedly pile out of the kitchen.

  


Julie stares at the mess in front of her. Her head is still pounding, she’s shivering and cleaning up really shouldn’t be her job. They started it.

  


Hastily she jumps to the back door. “Get back here and clean up!” She demands.

  


They poof in mid-sentence, already apologizing. Alex immediately starts wiping the floors, while Reggie’s cleaning the pan. Luke taking out the trash, stopping on his way when he is next to her.

  


“Suits you, by the way,” he says, tucking at the beanie on her head.

  


Julie had completely forgotten she was still wearing it. A blush spreads on her cheeks and she won’t blame the flu for this. Instead she smiles at him.

  


“Thanks, it’s growing on me… maybe I’ll keep it.”

  


Luke grins sheepishly. “Maybe, I’ll let you.”

  


“Hey! Enough chit-chat!” interrupts Reggie, throwing a dishtowel into their direction. “We’ve got work to do!”

  


The blush on Julie’s cheeks deepens, while Luke just rolls his eyes before leaving with the trash.

  


“And you, young lady, off to bed.”

  


Julie stares at the bassist, crossing her arms in front of her chest and raising an eyebrow. “Are you trying to sound like my Dad?”

  


Reggie almost drops the pan again, running his free, soap-covered hand through his hair and stammers, “Well, he’s a cool dude…”

  


“Sure,” winks Julie, laughing lightly. She sniffles a little, though and another stern look from Reggie makes her turn towards the stairs. “Don’t set any more fires, please?”

  


“Yes, ma’am,” salutes Alex.

  


Julie falls into bed with a big smile on her face. The jean jacket has carefully been placed over her desk chair. The beanie is still on her head, though. To keep her warm, obviously. No other reason.


	2. ... better

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here is the 2nd chapter for your enjoyment ;)
> 
> let me know what you think!
> 
> you can find me on [tumblr](http://serendipitee.tumblr.com/).
> 
> Bea x.

  


She doesn’t sleep well this time. In her dreams Caleb Covington is chasing her and the boys all around L.A., trying to steal their music from them. Caleb turns into a deformed version of Carrie and then into a gigantic grand piano, the keys turning into teeth and snapping at their feet.

  


Julie’s a little out of breath when she finally snaps out of it. Carlos is sitting at the end of her bed, looking at her strangely. She rubs at her eyes before they settle on her little brother.

  


“What is that?” He asks, pointing at Julie’s head.

  


She frowns for a moment. Carefully letting her hands wander to her head, she sighs when they find Luke’s beanie on there. “Just… I was cold,” she says.

  


“That’s Luke’s, right?” Carlos asks.

  


“Yeah, yeah… I… he gave it to me.” She sometimes still needs to remind herself that Carlos knows everything.

  


“That’s nice.”

  


And that he is a lot more observant than her or Dad give him credit for.

  


“Yeah, look, I don’t want to get you sick, so…”

  


Carlos quickly interrupts her, waving it off, “I don’t get sick.”

  


“I remember that time we were visiting Nana and you were throwing up the whole week we were there.”

  


“Not nice!” Carlos picks up one of the pillows and chugs it at her head. “That cheese looked really good.”

  


“It was green,” deadpans Julie, laughing.

  


Carlos frowns, crossing his arms and gets up from her bed. “Dad! Daaad! Julie is really feverish! She’s fantasizing about her holograms being ghosts!”

  


“Shut up,” warns Julie but it’s too late.

  


A second later Dad is rushing into her room, frantically putting his hand to her forehead. Meanwhile Carlos is grinning really smugly. Julie wants to wipe it clean of his face. She grimaces.

  


“I’ll get you some more soup and a cold towel and you just stay in bed. I’ll tell the school you won’t be in for the rest of the week.”

  


“But Dad,” tries Julie.

  


“Shh, rest!”

  


Before she can get another word in, he’s gone and Carlos is cackling. He comes closer to taunt her but Julie just crosses her arms, raising an eyebrow.

  


“You are so done.”

  


“Oh please? What are you gonna do? Make your ghosts haunt me? Ha, like that’s gonna work?” Carlos grins.

  


Julie leans in, thankful for the hoarse sound of her voice for the first time. “Did I ever tell you about this ghost they know? His name is Caleb and he loves cursing young boys for all of eternity. He visits them at night and puts a stamp on them, so that they belong to him.”

  


“That’s not true!” Carlos tries to wave it off, but the color has drained from his face and Julie can see right through his act. She has gotten to him.

  


“Go ahead! Ask the boys, if they know Caleb.” She shrugs, putting her hand on his shoulder.

  


Carlos clear’s his throat. “I… I will.”

  


“Good,” Julie smiles devilishly, “Oh, and ask them how it was for them when Caleb cursed them.”

  


Carlos is white as a sheet now. For a split-second Julie feels guilty. Then again, her little brother had been awfully into her business ever since he had found out about the guys, so really, he had it coming.

  


*******

  


She’s watching an episode of Pretty Little Liars when her door slowly opens. It’s dark outside, a little after eleven and Julie expects it to be her dad, scolding her for still being up.

  


The thing is, that sleeping all day, is really counter-productive to sleeping at night. She feels tired, her body feels tired but sleep just won’t come.

  


Julie sits up surprised, though, when Carlos steps into her room.

  


“Can I come in?” His voice is really timid.

  


“Yeah, sure,” Julie closes the laptop, putting it on her night stand.

  


Carlos climbs into bed, hugging the stuffed elephant close to his chest. It had been Julie’s. She had brought it to the hospital that first day, they had visited her mum and Carlos there and since then, it slept in his bed.

  


“Shouldn’t you be asleep?”

  


Carlos nods, plays with the elephant’s legs. Julie lets him take his time, lying back into the pillows.

  


“I talked to your band,” her brother finally says.

  


Suddenly the guilt is right there again. “Oh, Carlos,” she breathes out.

  


“I mean, we kind of texted, I don’t know but… like, they really do know a Caleb and… um…”

  


Julie puts her arm around him. “Hey, Caleb won’t hurt you, I promise.”

  


Her little brother snuggles closer, hiding his face in Julie’s shoulder. “Are you sure?”

  


She smiles, kisses his head and tugs a little on his curls. “I am very sure. They haven’t seen him for a while now.” Carlos looks at Julie with big eyes. “And even if he turns up again, there are three ghosts out there protecting you from him.” That seems to do the trick because Carlos visibly relaxes against her.

  


“I’m sorry, I said that to Dad.” Carlos apologizes.

  


“It’s okay,” Julie waves it off.

  


They’re quiet for a long while until Carlos yawns, “Can I sleep here tonight?”

  


Julie just nods, kissing his hairline again before snuggling deeper into the covers. After a little while his breathing evens out and it isn’t long after, that Julie finally falls asleep.

  


*******

  


Carlos had been right. He doesn’t get sick. He’s as chipper as ever the next morning while Julie somehow feels worse than the day before.

  


Her dad orders her to spent another day in bed and Julie complies willingly. Her entire body hurts now. Just sitting up seems like a lot of work.

  


She is watching an episode of Queer Eye when the boys pop into the room all excited. Julie doesn’t even have the energy to chastise them for coming in unannounced.

  


“Julie!” They exclaim and god, her head hurts.

  


She winces and that seems to get their attention.

  


“Sorry,” is their follow-up statement, this time in a hushed whisper.

  


They crowd around her bed, careful not to jostle her. Alex hands her a fresh cup from the red thermos. “Are you feeling better?”

  


Julie sighs. “If anything, I am feeling worse.”

  


Luke’s hand finds her forehead and another sigh escapes her. The cold touch feels so good on her heated skin. She ignores the tingle wandering up and down her spine.

  


Reggie stares at her. “But, like, you’ll be better tomorrow, right?”

  


Julie shrugs, before a shiver ripples through her, followed by a heavy cough. Luke frowns, his eyebrows tightly knitted together. Alex takes the mug from her fingers.

  


“That doesn’t sound good,” comments the bassist.

  


“I’m sorry,” Julie croaks, biting her lips, looking from one to the other. She ends up at Luke’s eyes.

  


“Don’t worry, we’ll figure something out.” Alex looks at his bandmates. “Right, guys?”

  


“Oh, definitely!” agrees Reggie. “We’ll just have to try harder at nursing you back to health. You’ll see, tomorrow you’ll be as good as new!”

  


Julie sends him a smile, before she’s coughing again.

  


“We should let you sleep.” Luke’s hand disappears and Julie prays that nobody heard the whimper that ripped from her lips when the touch disappeared. If anybody did, they play it cool which she is more than thankful for.

  


Julie catches the longing look Reggie throws towards her laptop, though. “Take it, stream whatever.” She rests her head on the pillows.

  


Excitedly Reggie takes the laptop, quickly pressing a kiss to her hairline before poofing out. Alex just shakes his head before he follows his friend.

  


Luke looks at her for a long moment. “Are you good?”

  


“Yeah, yeah,” she waves it off, “I’ll just sleep some more.” Closing her eyes, Julie already feels like she’s half asleep. The conversation with the boys has been more tiring than she thought.

  


*******

  


They appear with a grilled cheese sandwich a little after noon.

  


Julie eyes it suspiciously, sniffing the air for any signs of smoke or fire. But everything seems to be in the clear.

  


“We even cleaned the kitchen!” Reggie nods, proudly and Julie can’t help but smile.

  


Slowly she sits up, taking the plate from Alex.

  


“I, um, I even put in my special secret ingredient.”

  


Julie isn’t sure, if Luke’s blushing, but he is scratching the back of his neck and her eyes wander to his arms for a quick moment before settling on the sandwich. It looks good, it smells fantastic.

  


Carefully she takes a bite. The boys are all staring at her, waiting for her reaction impatiently.

  


“This is… good, really good!”

  


Reggie pumps the air, while Luke grins, obviously pleased with himself. “You want to know my secret ingredient?”

  


Julie catches one glimpse at Alex’ face and quickly shakes her head. “No, no, please not. I want to enjoy this.”

  


The hurt on Luke’s face is evident but he shrugs it off a moment later. “So, we thought about playing ‘Stand Tall’ tomorrow and maybe ‘Flying Solo’ if they want to hear something different and…”

  


Julie sniffles and he frowns, trailing off.

  


“Only, if you are up for it, of course.”

  


She finishes her sandwich. “I’m sure, it’ll be fine.” Sending them a wide grin, trying to convince them. She seems to fail though, because none of them are convinced.

  


“Is there anything else we can do to make you feel better?” Alex looks serious and this time Julie’s smile is honest and real.

  


“I’m good, thanks.” She looks at her band. It’s not even a lie, she finds. She’s okay, like this, surrounded by her family.

  


“What did your mum do whenever you were sick?”

  


Alex’ next questions comes a little out of left field. Julie just stares at the drummer for a moment before answering, “Read me stories.”

  


“What kind?”

  


Reggie already jumped off the bed, and is currently scanning through her bookcase.

  


“Fairytales, mostly,” Julie says.

  


“Got it!” Reggie triumphantly pulls out the big fairytale book that used to be her mother’s. It has a golden frame and many little drawings of fairytale characters on the cover. “Let’s do this!”

  


He settles back into bed, opens the book and starts reading the story of Snow White. It’s a little weird at the beginning, listening to the story her mum always used to read to her, being read by someone else. But Reggie is a surprisingly good storyteller, pausing at all the right moments, giving the characters different voices and Julie can tell that not only her but Alex and Luke are also intrigued.

  


They all settle into bed, her head on Alex’ shoulder and her left hand dangerously close to Luke’s right. If she stretches a little more, she’ll touch his fingers. The thought is followed by another of the familiar tingles.

  


After Snow White it’s Beauty and the Beast and then Reggie’s voice gives out. They decide to watch animated movies next and Julie introduces them to Toy Story and Finding Nemo, laughing through her tears when they all break down crying. Alex completely falls head over heels for Dory and jumps up to sing “Just keep swimming” when Finding Nemo is over.

  


Julie watches him, laughing before her eyes wander over to Reggie and Luke who are looking at their bandmate with a fond expression on their faces. This, this is good.

  


The thing she always hated the most about being sick was not being able to see her friends. With the guys she doesn’t have to worry about getting them sick. They can hug and cuddle her and just be there. Julie’s pretty sure that she’s feeling a lot better than she has this morning.

  


When Flynn calls her after school, there’s color in her cheeks again and she ushers the boys out of her room, laughing when Reggie poofs in five seconds later to grab her laptop.

  


“They do all have sequels, right?” He asks and when Julie nods, he disappears with a satisfied smirk on his lips.

  


“You look better,” comments Flynn.

  


“I feel better, too.”

  


They talk about what Julie had been missing at school and she’s listening to her best friend’s report absent-mindedly, playing with Luke’s beanie.

  


“And Nick’s been asking about you a lot. Apparently, you didn’t text him back?”

  


Julie frowns. “I didn’t?” She scrolls through her messages to Nick, reading the last one, her eyes go wide. “I never saw it. Well, I must’ve but…”

  


“You were really out of it yesterday,” Flynn reminds her and Julie nods. Her best friend’s right. She must’ve read it and forgotten about it. Quickly she texts him back, deliberately ignoring the second part of the message. “Oh, and speaking about crushes. Is that Luke’s?”

  


Caught, Julie drops the beanie and blushes. “Uhhh…”

  


“Jules!”, scolds Flynn.

  


“I know, I know, but he’s just… ugh!” She lets herself fall back into the pillows.

  


A small laugh echoes through the phone. “Oh, girl, you are in so much trouble. That’s not just a crush anymore…”

  


“Tell me about it,” groans Julie, hiding her face behind her hands.

  


Flynn laughs again, shaking her head.

  


Thankful that she’s able to change the subject, Julie say, “Any outfit suggestions for tomorrow?”

  


“You want to sing tomorrow? Your voice sounds worse than my Dad’s!”

  


“We’ll figure something out,” waves Julie it off before getting into her outfit choices with her best friend.

  


*******

  


After dinner, Dad doesn’t immediately send her back to bed again, instead lets her stay and watch TV with them. She’s snuggled against him on the couch, Carlos on his other side and they’re watching the first Harry Potter movie.

  


If there are three ghosts sprawled out on the carpet, nobody has to know.

  


And Julie almost doesn’t feel sick anymore.

  



	3. ... early

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for the love on the last chapter! So many kudos, bookmarks and comments, they all made the last few days that much brighter :)
> 
> this story is finished with this chapter but I am alreay working on something new that's going to be a little bit longer. Have fun reading and I would love to hear your opinions on this!
> 
> You can find me on [tumblr](http://serendipitee.tumblr.com/) and freak out with me over JATP there. 
> 
> Love, Bea x.

  


The next morning Julie can barely get out of bed. She’s stiff all over, her entire body hurting and being rippled over and over again with waves of coughs.

  


She groans, forces herself to get dressed and ready for school. They have a performance in the afternoon. She can’t miss it and risk their chance of getting a record deal.

  


“Oh no, young lady, back to bed!” Her dad says though, as soon as she sets foot into the kitchen. Reggie is standing next to him, a horrified expression on his face.

  


“How do you look even worse than yesterday?” He asks, completely blown away.

  


“Thank you,” groans Julie, trying to roll her eyes but failing epically.

  


“Don’t thank me, mija, just stay in bed, okay. Tía will bring you some more soup.”

  


“Dad,” Julie whines but he ignores her, pushing her up the stairs, Reggie on their toes and tucking her back into bed, kissing her on the forehead before leaving.

  


Reggie looks at her pitifully. “I’m gonna tell the guys,” he says, poofing out before Julie can stop him.

  


They all pop in five minutes later, talking over one another and Julie tries to drown them out. It’s just too loud, her head is already hurting and to be honest, she just wants to sleep. Again.

  


“Guys, shut up,” Alex finally says, sitting down by Julie’s side and gently touching her shoulder.

  


“I’m really sorry, guys,” she whispers, her voice hoarse and barely there.

  


“Hey, Jules, relax, it’s okay!” Luke waves it off. “We’ll figure something out.”

  


He sits down on her other side and Reggie takes the space at her feet. They try to find solutions, quietly talking, lulling Julie to sleep.

  


*******

  


“Okay, this is my grandma’s secret recipe against a sore throat. She swore on it,” says Alex and puts the mug in Julie’s hand.

  


She peeks inside, sees the unidentifiable liquid and grimaces. Her voice sounds rough, breaking at the last word, when she asks, “What’s in it?” 

  


“You don’t wanna know.”

  


She wants to refuse, she really does but they should be at Destiny Records in five hours and even though, she thinks the fever’s gone down, there’s no way, she can sing with this voice. 

  


Reggie is watching her carefully as if she’d try to make a run for it. With a sigh, she takes a sip, immediately gagging. “This is awful!”

  


“I know,” Luke says sympathetically, “it's why we haven't brought it up sooner. I had to drink it a few times myself, it's disgusting but, it helps.”

  


Alex nods. “It saved us every time Luke overdid it at soundcheck.”

  


“Never happened,” disagrees Luke.

  


“Oh, it happened.” Reggie starts recounting all the times it did happened and Luke is shrinking in on himself with every addition.

  


Finally, he shuts his friend up with a pillow to the stomach before turning around to Julie. “What we’re saying is, that we all know it’s disgusting but it’s worth it. Trust me.”

  


Julie looks into his eyes for a long moment. Breathing in deeply, she drains the mug in one go. Reggie’s eyes go comically big with every gulp she takes, while Alex is whistling lowly. Forcefully she pushes the mug towards Luke before shaking herself.

  


“Tea next!”, she breathes out.

  


The boys hurry to pour her some, almost dropping the thermos in their haste but as she can wash down the disgusting whatever with some tea, swallowing gets easier again and the bile slowly recedes from her throat.

  


“Never again,” she promises them. Luke pats her shoulder consolingly. “Okay, and now?”

  


“Now, we relax and let Alex’ poison do its magic. And we watch Toy Story 3!” Reggie eagerly opens up her laptop.

  


Julie lets them all into her bed, settling between Luke and Alex. She’s brave enough to let her side rest against Luke’s.

  


“You good?” He quietly asks her as the movie starts.

  


Julie nods, even though her heart is basically racing inside her chest. She doesn’t trust her words though, so she keeps her lips sealed and tries to concentrate on the movie. Ten minutes in, Luke’s hand drops next to hers. Their pinkies touch and Julie holds her breath, as she hooks hers into his.

  


A slow smile spreads on Luke’s lips, she can see it from the corner of her eye. Her stomach is tingling and she’s pretty sure that it’s not from Alex concoction.

  


Every chance to concentrate on the movie is flying out the window, when Luke carefully takes her hand into his. With his thumb he starts drawing circles on the back of her hand.

  


The ringing of the doorbell seems to come from far away and it takes her a moment to come back to reality. She takes her hand from Luke’s, waves it off as Reggie’s about to pause the movie. She's seen it enough times with Carlos to know what's going to happen next. The bassist heaves a reliefed sigh, settling back into bed.

  


Julie hurries down the stairs, opening the front door. She expects it to be tía, realizing a moment too late, that her aunt would’ve had a key.

  


Instead it’s Nick, catching Julie completely off guard.

  


“Hi,” he says.

  


“Nick!” Julie can’t help the yelp that escapes her mouth.

  


“You look… cosy,” he settles on and Julie can’t help the blush creeping into her cheeks.

  


“What are you doing here?” She crosses her arms, trying to decided on what time it is and why he’s here. Well, she has her suspicions, but…

  


“I have a free period before lunch and wanted to see you. School isn’t the same without you there.” He smiles that smile which would’ve made her knees go weak a few weeks ago. Now, it makes her a little bit uncomfortable.

  


“Oh, that’s nice, but you really didn’t have to.”

  


“But you’ve been coop up the last two days. Doesn’t it get lonely?” He leans against the doorframe and involuntarily Julie takes a step back. 

  


“Uh, no, I’ve been watching Netflix and reading and…”

  


“Cooking?”

  


She frowns. “No.”

  


“Oh, just thought, because of the mess.” He points behind her towards the kitchen.

  


Julie turns, sees the chaos that has clearly been caused by the three ghosts who are currently relaxing in her bed. Oh, they’d get their ass kicked later!

  


“Ha, oh, no, I was just making some tea and, well, you know me, always a mess,” she tries to laugh it off.

  


Belatedly Nick joins her. They laugh awkwardly for a moment, before they both sigh. Julie doesn’t really know what to say or do next. She’s playing with the sleeves of her yellow sweater, avoiding Nick’s eyes.

  


“So, are you going to invite me in?”

  


The question makes her look up. Nick has changed his position. His shoulders are drawn back, his chin is raised and Julie can’t help it, she shivers. He’s been acting weird since their performance at the Orpheum.

  


The next morning he had showed up with flowers and with every day since then, his advances had gotten more direct. Julie hadn’t brought it up with anybody yet, because maybe he is just that nice and really wants to spend time with her as a friend but this is too much.

  


“Um, no, sorry, I’m still not feeling that well and don’t want to get you sick.”

  


“I don’t get sick,” he counters, taking a step forward almost entering the house.

  


She hears the energy crackling before she sees them. They all show up around the door at the same time.

  


Almost as if he could sense them, Nick stiffens. He looks right at Luke, who is the closest to her, putting his hand on her elbow while Reggie lets the door close a little bit.

  


It’s creepy, the way Nick’s eyes fall to the point of contact between Luke and her. Julie frowns.

  


“I really should get back to bed,” she says then with authority in her voice.

  


It definitely helps to have three ghosts in one’s corner.

  


“Yeah, we need to finish a movie,” chirps Reggie, pushing the door a little.

  


Julie stops it with her hand. “Thanks for dropping by, though,” she says. Nick’s still a friend, right?

  


“And for leaving!” Luke mumbles and Alex rolls his eyes.

  


“Maybe I’ll see you this weekend?” Nick asks, drawing out his departure.

  


“Maybe,” Julie concedes.

  


“Maybe not,” throws Luke in, getting pushed by Alex while Reggie snorts.

  


“Bye, Julia,” Nick says at last. He waves, his eyes wandering over Julie’s surroundings and she lets out a breath of relief when he finally turns around.

  


She quickly closes the door, leaning against it before locking eyes with the boys.

  


“I don’t like him,” says Luke, crossing his arms and close to pouting. Julie almost finds it adorable.

  


“Shocker,” comments Reggie, patting Luke’s shoulder, “and now back to bed! We left on a cliffhanger!” He claps his hands, before poofing upstairs.

  


“He’s a friend. You called him cute just two weeks ago!” Julie says to Luke. Nick really isn’t a bad guy, she's sure of it.

  


“Well, he’s not my friend, so, I don’t have to be nice to him.” He follows Reggie quickly, obviously trying to evade the conversation.

  


Julie rolls her eyes but Alex holds her back. “Jules, has Nick ever said anything about us?”

  


She frowns. “Not really, no. I mean, he thinks you're holograms, right?”

  


“Right, it’s just…”

  


She waits patiently for him to continue.

  


“Well, it’s probably nothing, but didn’t it seem like he was looking right at us?”

  


Julie knows what he means. She waves it off, though. It’s not good to get the drummer into a worried-overthinking mood, especially before a performance. “Really? I didn’t realize anything.”

  


Alex hums, not completely convinced, so Julie links their arms.

  


“Hey, my throat feels much better!”

  


Alex smiles, eagerly talking about his grandma and her other secret poisons for various illnesses while they walk up the stairs together.

  


It’s only after Reggie has pressed play and they have all settled back into bed, that Julie realizes Nick has called her ‘Julia’. Nobody has called her by her birthname in years. Not even the teachers use it in school.

  


She shakes the uneasy feeling from her stomach, though. Sure, Nick’s been acting weird but she’s been acting weird around him for years. So, it’s normal to not be completely cool in front of the person you like, especially if it’s not reciprocated, right?

  


*******

  


Julie throws the boys out of her room an hour later to get ready. She doesn’t really feel better and she has definitely lied to Alex. The poison she drank, didn’t help at all. Her voice is still all croaky and hoarse when she tries to sing under the shower.

  


She still gets dressed, not wanting to disappoint the guys. They have been taking care of her over the last three days and Julie doesn’t want to let them down. All of them have been working their butts off to get this opportunity. It would be madness to throw it away because of a little cough.

  


She yawns at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. A wave of tiredness hits her then. She tries to shake it off, turning the music up, swaying her hips to the rhythm while brushing her hair and teeth.

  


Julie gets dressed, before putting on make-up. They have one hour left before they should be at Destiny Records. For a long moment she debates whether she should call her dad to get his permission to go.

  


He wouldn’t let her, she’s sure.

  


She can text him on the way there. That still counts, right? Julie frowns. Luke’s ‘ask for forgiveness not permission’-policy is rubbing off on her.

  


“You ready?” The boys are sprawled out on her bed again when she enters her bedroom.

  


“You don’t look half-dead anymore,” compliments Reggie her.

  


She ignores it in favor of answering Alex’ question. “I guess.” She stifles another yawn.

  


“Maybe you should rest some more before we leave, we can still spare ten minutes.” Luke pushes himself up on his elbows. “I remember, always getting super tired from Alex’ disgusting stuff.”

  


“Yeah, seems about right,” Julie mumbles, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

  


Luke scoots over, creating room in the middle. Julie pushes herself further in. The next yawn is too big to swallow, so she lets it out, making the boys grin.

  


“Rest seems like the right idea,” Alex says.

  


Luke lies back down again. For a moment Julie contemplates where to settle down, then she decides to be brave. She rests her head next to his on the pillow. His eyes get big before a smile spreads on his lips.

  


Alex settles down behind her, winking before closing his eyes. Julie fights the blush that threatens to burn her face. Reggie just raises an eyebrow before lying down by their feet.

  


“This is nice,” he mumbles and Julie isn’t really sure what he’s referring to, but she agrees. The bassist reaches for her foot, giving her ankle a gentle squeeze. Julie smiles, watching him close his eyes.

  


Alex rests his hand on Julie’s hips, his weight an affirmation that they are real to her. As real, as ghosts can be.

  


Tentatively Luke puts a hand on hers. She raises her head, locking eyes with him. The question is clear in his eyes.

  


Slowly she nods, smiling. He sighs before biting his lips, his hand slowly playing with her fingers. Her eyes drop to them for a short moment, flickering up again. Luke obviously saw it because his smile turns into a sly smirk.

  


“Stop flirting,” hums Reggie without opening his eyes.

  


Luke huffs a silent laugh while Julie drops her head, hiding her face in her hair. His hand pushes it back gently, combing through her locks and Julie lets her eyes close.

  


Resting like this feels nice, amazing even. She’s sure that she’ll feel up for performing in no time. Just give her ten minutes.

  


*******

  


She wakes up when someone calls her name.

  


“Just a little bit longer,” she moans.

  


Somebody groans close to her, then a loud thud, followed by an even louder, “Shit!”

  


Julie recognizes Alex’ voice, opening her eyes groggily. “What’s up?”

  


“We overslept!” He shrieks.

  


Julie sits up, staring at him. “You don’t sleep!”

  


“Then we overrested, whatever! We’re too late!” Alex runs his hand through his hair.

  


"We can't be late." Reggie's voice is groggy, his movements seemingly heavy with sleep. Julie has to smile. The bassist is still completely out of it.

  


"It's a quarter past five! We should've been there over an hour ago!" Alex has started pacing and they are all watching him, their eyes following him through the room.

  


“Let’s think! We can still…”

  


Julie won’t find out what they still can or can’t do according to Luke because the door opens, revealing her dad. “With the noise you’re making up here, you must feel better, mija!”

  


Julie gapes, not knowing what to say. The boys are not helping at all, talking over each other, throwing around suggestions and ideas to somehow save the day.

  


“Yeah, yeah,” she finally gets out.

  


“That’s great! We’re making spaghetti for dinner. You up for it?”

  


“Yeah, sure,” Julie says, not really hearing him.

  


“Great!” He leans over, kissing her hair. “You look good, by the way. Finally have some color in your cheeks again.” He pinches them and Julie forces a grin. “Come down, when you’re ready.”

  


She nods, waiting until he’s gone before she hisses, “Guys, stop!”

  


To her own surprise they do. They all look rumbled. Reggie still has a clear case of bed hair, which is a first and absolutely hilarious to look at. She almost snickers. Luke is scratching the back of his neck, not making eye contact and Julie’s thankful for it. Alex seems completely panicked.

  


“We’re late! Late!” He whispers, still not fully believing it.

  


“Told you, that stuff makes you sleepy,” mumbles Luke.

  


Alex doesn’t seem pleased with the answer because he rolls his eyes. Julie tries to sing, pleasantly surprised that she can actually hit a note.

  


“It worked, though,” she says, amazed.

  


Reggie states the obvious. “Just a little too late.”

  


Luke throws his arms around his best friends. “Well, nothing we can do now. Your dad won’t let you leave, sneaking out is out of the question, so I guess, that record deal has slipped away, but,” he adds quickly, because Alex has already opened his mouth, “we will get another chance. I’m sure of it.”

  


He smiles his most disarming smile.

  


“Yeah, you’re right,” agrees Reggie, “and it’s not like everything was a waste. Next time we’ll just make Julie drink Alex’ stuff right at the beginning!”

  


“There won’t be a next time,” promises Julie quickly. “But anytime you want to make me a grilled cheese sandwich, go for it!”

  


Reggie holds out his hand for a fist-bump. Julie lets their fingers touch and Alex finally sighs. “I guess, you’re right. I mean, we’ll get more chances, right?”

  


“Hell yeah!” Luke grabs their shoulder tightly, drawing their face towards his. “We’ll just have to work our asses off and play…”

  


“Wherever and whenever we can,” finish Reggie and Julie for him.

  


“Cute,” Luke grins.

  


“Adorable.” Alex rolls his eyes.

  


Julie hears her name from downstairs. She sighs. “Hey guys,” she starts, letting her eyes wander from one to the other, “thanks for taking care of me the last days. It means a lot.”

  


“No need to thank us. We needed you for today,” says Reggie, earning him a slap over the head from Luke for the statement. “What?! Of course, we loved doing it! It was great fun all around!”

  


Julie smiles. “It _was_ fun,” she realizes, “being sick has never been fun before.”

  


“Don’t let it become a habit,” warns Alex, winking.

  


Julie salutes, before her dad calls for her the second time.

  


The boys wave, poofing out. Only Luke remains. He locks eyes with her, biting his lip. Julie steps closer, until she’d be able to touch him if she reached out.

  


He does first, though, gently taking her hand into his, starts drawing circles on the back of her hand again. Julie watches fascinated and definitely evading his eyes.

  


“Jules?” His voice is barely a whisper and Julie looks up. “I’m sorry about how I reacted with Nick. He’s… alright, I guess.”

  


Julie nods. “He is.” Luke’s smile freezes. “But he’s just a friend.”

  


She puts her hand on his shoulder, gets on her tiptoes and hovers over his cheek for a long moment before pressing her lips to it. He sighs.

  


When she lands back on her feet, he’s biting his lip again, staring at her in wonder. “This is an interesting little relationship you and I have,” she echoes back at him. “But I’m glad we have it.”

  


Luke swallows, seemingly searching for words. It’s the first time she’s seen him like this. It’s kinda cute. “Me, too,” he finally gets out.

  


Julie laughs, about to say more, when her door flies open.

  


“Can you come eat now?” interrupts Carlos. “I’m hungry.”

  


“Yeah, sure, sorry, I’ll be right there.”

  


“Now!” Carlos demands, crossing his arms.

  


Julie rolls her eyes about to show her brother who the older and definitely still taller sibling is, when Luke gently pushes her towards Carlos.

  


“Go, I’ll see you later.” He bites his lip, smiles and poofs out without letting her get a word in.

  


She sighs. Carlos had been just a little bit early. She’s sure something big would’ve happened otherwise. While she follows her little brother downstairs, who is definitely hungry according to the mood he’s in, she contemplates the almost-moment with Luke.

  


At least now, she can still look forward to it. And isn’t that a good thing?

*******

#### fin.


End file.
